Method of producing sticks or refills containing fasteners



Sept. 19, 1950 J. D. A. 'WHALEN METHOD OF PRODUCING STICKS OR REFILLSCONTAINING FASTENERS Flled Sept 21 1944 Patented Sept. 19, 1950 UNITESTATES PATENT OFFECE METHOD OF PRODUCING STICKS OR BEFILLS CONTAININGFASTENERS Application September 21, 1944, Serial No. 555,094 2 Claims.(01. 59-77) This invention relates to a novel type of fastener and moreparticularly to a plastic-coated wire staple; an improved method ofpackaging a series of such staples in a strip or stick," socalled, foruse as a refill to supply stapling implements and wire-stitchingmachines; and to the stick or refill produced by said method.

One object of the invention is to provide a plastic-coated wire stapleor similar fastener for attaching papers, stitching the seams of cartonsand other containers, tacking labels to boxes or the like, fasteningtogether various articles of utility and commerce, and for other similarpurposes.

Another object is to provide a new type of wire staple carrying apermanent coating of thermosetting plastic and adapted to be assembledin multiple in contiguous relationship attached together in a stick orrefill by means of the surface coating.

Another object is to provide a staple coated with a relatively thin,hard film of thermosetting plastic which may be transparent, translucentor tinted with various colors to adapt the different colors to be usedas indicia in fastening together different types of documents orarticles of utility.

Another object is to provide a staple carrying a plastic coatingpermanently bonded thereto to adapt it to remain unbroken and proofagainst disintegration when the staple is driven into the work.

Another object is to provide a method of costing wire staples or similarfasteners and bonding them together in a strip or stick with the plasticcoating serving as an adhesive to cement them together and finally curedor set to render the surface hard and impenetrable.

Another object is to provide a staple stick or refill comprising anysuitable number of plasticcoated staples arranged in contiguousrelationship with their sides cemented together by means of the plasticcoating, yet capable of being individually detached from the stick byoperation of the staple-driving means in an implement or machine.

Further objects of the improvement are set forth in the followingspecification which describes a preferred form of construction of theimproved staple, a novel method of attaching a series of the staples ina strip or stick, and the strip or stick produced thereby. Thespecification is illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a strip or stick of staples constructed and assembled inaccordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a greatly enlarged sectional view taken in a plane extendinglongitudinally of the strip through the crossbars or crowns of thestaples;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view of a single staple showing its coveringor coating in section:

Fig. 4 is a still further enlarged view of a portion of the staple stickshown in Fig. 2 with parts of the plastic coating shown as broken away;and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a slightly different form of stapleconstructed of flat wire and embodying the present improvement.

It is a common practice in the present art to provide strips of U-shapedstaples assembled in contiguous parallel relationship and attachedtogether in the form of a commercial "stick" or refill for staplingimplements. Various means have been employed for holding the staplesassembled in the stick, such as by pasting a strip or strips of paperacrossv the top and sides of the stick or by cementing the staplestogether at their abutting sides.

When a paper strip is pasted to the staples in the stick it must besevered in detaching the individual staples therefrom and portions ofthe paper may be left adhering to each staple after it is driven intothe work. These fragments are unsightly in appearance and the paperparticles are liable to collect in the grooves of the stapling machineor implement to clog the latter and impede its action.

Strips of solder or the like for connecting the staples must also besevered to detach them from the stick and with this expedient portionsof the solder are left clinging to the staples after they are applied tothe work to render them rough and unsightly in appearance. Moreover,particles of the solder becoming loose from the staples are apt tocollect in the grooves of the stapling machine or implement to interferewith its action while being liable to injure its mechanism.

United States Patent No. 1,792,235, granted to A. H. Maynard on February10, 1931, discloses a form of staple stick in which the staples areattached together by a film of adhesive applied to the under side of thecrossbars and the inside of the legs of the staples, and this type ofstick or refill has been found fairly satisfactory for general use.However, unless the adhesive is applied with care and precision the bondis not strong and permanent and the staples are liable to be brokenapart so that the stick or refill loses its integrity. If the film istoo thin the staples cannot be securely bonded together, whereas, if thefilm is relatively thick the adhesive breaks off when the staples aredriven and particles thereof are liable to clog the stapling mechanism.Moreover, the particles of hardened adhesive are liable to collect onthe work, such as on a sheaf of 3 papers, and be transferred to thefingers of the person handling the same.

The present improved form of staple and the method of attaching suchstables in a stick or refill are designed to overcome the defects anddeficiencies of the means previously employed in the art.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a strip or stick 8 of U-shapedstaples 2 constructed in accordance with the present invention andconnected in parallel contiguous relationship by means of the plasticcoating on the surfaces of the staples. As shown more in detail in Fig.2, the staples 2 may be of round wire 3 and usually they are made withtheir crossbars 4 and legs I of various dimensions in accordance withthe type of work for which they are to be used. Preferably, the wire 3from which the staples are constructed is coated with the plastic inlong lengths prior to shaping the staples therefrom.

Suitable thermosetting plastic is employed as the coating for the wireof the staples, for example, any of the synthetic resin plastics ofthermosetting type now generally known and commonly used, for example,resins of the phenol aldehyde, urea aldehyde, and melamine type. Asshown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the coatin 6 when applied to the wirebefore forming the staples should cover the continuous surfaces thereof,that is, throughout the lengths comprising the crossbars 4 and the legs5, although the terminal points of the staples will not be coated whenthe wire is cut into lengths before bending.

A large number of strands of the coated wire may be assembled inparallel contiguous relationship to form a continuous flat strip orband, the number of strands and the width of the band being selected inaccordance with the length of the staple strip to be formed therefrom.With this'preferred method of manufacture, the multiple strands ofcoated wire are bonded together before cutting the band into sections ofthe appropriate length for producing staples of any required dimensions.The continuous band of parallel contiguous strands of coated wire is fedlongitudinally through a suitable apparatus while the coating is in asemiliquid state and sticky or tacky to cause the strands to adhere.During this treatment pressure is applied to the sides of the band toforce the several wires into closely adjacent relationship whilecompressing the plastic material between the sides of the strands.Usually, the initial width of the band of wire strands is somewhatgreater than the length of the staple sticks to be produced therefromsince under compression at the sides its width will be reduced. Forexample, if a staple strip four inches in length is desired a suitablenumber of wires will be applied to the band to give a width ofapproximately four and one-quarter inches, this width being reduced tofour inches as the wire strands are confined and forced together. Duringthis process of uniting the strands by means of the plastic coating theband is confined at the top and bottom so that it cannot buckle and thepressure at the sides of the band may be applied by any suitable means,preferably by a rolling action; the apparatus for performing theseoperations not being claimed herein as its preferred form ofconstruction is to be set forth in an application to be filed later.

The heat treatment for curing the plastic 4 coating may be applied bymeans of electricallyenergized units, through the use of infrared raylamps or by any other suitable means. The heat is preferably applied toboth sides of the band of closely associated wire strands to cause theplastic coating to be set or cured to the proper degree to render ithard and practically impenetrable. At the same time, due to thecontiguous relationship of the wire strands and the contact betweenthem, the plastic 6 surrounding the wires 3 will act as an adhesive tocement the wires together with an exceedingly strong bond between theirsides. By this means a particularly strong and substantially permanentjoinder is made between all the staples eventually formed and connectedin the stick B so that the bonding is not liable to be fractured orruptured when large numbers of the sticks or refills are handled andpacked for shipment. Moreover, the bond is so strong that jarring oi thepackages during shipment or dropping of the sticks will not fracture theconnection between the staples to cause them to break apart.

After the band of parallel wire strands has been treated progressivelyin the manner explained above, relatively short lengths are cuttherefrom by severing it across its width and during this last operationthe severed wires may be bent to form U-shaped staples of any particularsize such as illustrated in the present drawings.

It is to be understood also that the present improved staples and thesticks or refills containing them may be formed by other methods; forexample, a single strand of plastic-coated wire may be cut into shortlengths and these lengths assembled in groups or blanks for forming theminto staples joined together in a stick, with the heat treatment appliedeither before or after the staples are formed from the wire.

As another variation in the method of joining the staples in a stick,relatively short lengths of the coated wire may first be bent to formstaples 2 of the required shape and dimensions and a plurality of thestaples, in number suitable to produce a strip of the required length,may be assembled in parallel contiguous relationship as shown in Figs. 1and 2 with the crossbars 4 and legs 5 of the staples in contact. Theformed staples 2 coated with a thin film of the plastic 6 may then besuitably supported and clamped together in closely abutting relationshipnor final treating in a heating oven or other suitable apparatus. Inorder that the formed staples may be assembled in close association toinclude a maximum number in each stick, the coated wire strands or thecoated staples, as the case may be, are forced together under pressurewhile the coating is relatively soft so as to reduce the thickness ofthe plastic material between their sides. Under such pressure the doublethickness of the plastic coating between adjacent wires may be reducedto a film only slightly thicker or of no greater thickness than thesingle layer on the wire as the plastic is caused to flow around thewire. Moreover, the forcing of the wire strands or .the staples togethertends to insure a complete contact and more secure bond therebetween.

It will be lobserved particularly from the sectional view, Fig. 4, thatthe crossbars 4 and legs 5 of the staples 2 in the stick S are incontact for relatively short areas only so that when a stick of staplesis placed in a stapling implement or other machine the impact of thedriver against the top of a staple will cause the bond to be broken,whereof to permit each individual staple to be detached from the stripand driven into the work.

While Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, illustrate the present improved staple asconstructed from round wire 3, it is to be understood that wire of othercross-sectional contour may be employed. For example, Fig. 5 shows inperspective a portion of a stick of staples S constructed from fiat wire1 and it is obvious that they may be coated in the same manner as thatdescribed in connection with the round wire staples first referred to.

It will be observed from the foregoing specification that the presentimproved type of staple embodying a plastic coating enclosing a wirepresents a smoother and more attractive high gloss finish on itssurface. The plastic material may be transparent, translucent or tintedwith colored dyes so that differently colored staples used for differentclasses of work will serve as indicia for designating groups or sheathsof papers as to their contents. Likewise, for use in tacking objects toother articles, the staples may be colored to match the color of thearticles with which they are used or the coloring may serve simply toornament the staples. As another adaptation, staples of differentdimensions may be of different colors to indicate their size.

A further and important feature of the improvement consists in the factthat the plastic coating on the wire of the staples provides protectionagainst rust or corrosion so that ordinary steel wire may be used toobviate the expense of plating or tinning it. In addition, the staplesare more convenient and easy to handle due to their smooth glossysurfaces and ofler less resistance in perforating them through largenumbers of paper sheets or when driven into other objects. Likewise, thesmooth glossy surfaces of the staplw adapt them to glide easily in themachine both in feeding them to the driving mechanism and in drivingthem therefrom, while the coating, being permanent and not easilydisintegrated, there is little danger of particles of the plasticbecoming detached to clog the mechanism and cause interference with itsoperation.

A still further advantage oi the present improved plastic-coated stapleconsists in its resistance to heat and humidity. After the thermosettingplastic has once been heated and then cooled it is impervious toordinary heat and consequently is not affected deleteriously when thestaple sticks are shipped into regions with [hot and humid climates suchas the southern parts of this country or into tropical countries.

While the present improvements are herein shown as embodied in apreferred form of construction, it is to be understood that variousmodifications may be made in the form of staple, both as to the materialfrom which it is constructed and as regards its shape and dimensions,without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. It also isto be understood that I do not limit myself to any particular formulafor the plastic material used to coat the staples, since various typesof synthetic resins or the like may be used for this purpose providingthey are of a thermosetting nature; and likewise, the method of treatingthe wire strands or the staples may be varied somewhat from that hereindescribed.

Therefore, without limiting myself in this respect, I claim:

1. A method of producing sticks or refills containing a plurality ofwire staples consisting in coating wire with a thin film ofthermosetting resin, assembling a pluralit of coated wire strands inparallel contiguous relationship, confining the wire strands inassembled relationship to cause the plastic on the several wire strandsto adhere at the points of contact, curing the resin to provide a hardsubstantially impenetrable coating on the surface of the wire, andforming the wire strands into U-shaped staples bonded together in astrip or stick.

2. A method of producing sticks or refills contaming a plurality of wirestaples consisting in coating a continuous wire with a thin film ofthermosettlng resin, assembling a group of multiple strands of thecoated wire in parallel contiguous relationship, confining the wirestrands at the top and bottom of the band, applying pressure to forcethe wires together laterally while the resin is relatively soft andtacky, cutting the band of multiple strands into relatively shortsections, and bending the assembled wire strands to form staples bondedtogether in a stick or refill.

JOSEPH D. A. WHALEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,792,235 Maynard Feb. 10, 19311,896,042 Ruben Jan. 31, 1933 1,960,176 Weber et al May 22, 19342,071,685 Ellsworth et a1. Feb. 23, 1937 2,085,780 Zeruneith July 6,1937 2,122,814 Hanson July 5, 1938 2,124,232 Kittredge et a1 July 19,1938 2,125,211 Vogel July 26, 1938 2,128,443 Vogel Aug. 30, 19382,137,467 Vogel Nov. 22, 1938 2,158,242 Maynard May 16, 1939 1,196,569Stroehla et al Apr. 9, 1949 2,296,942 Nutt Sept. 29, 1942 2,321,847Obstfeld June 15, 1943 2,323,334 Kauth July 8, 1943 2,425,294 MorganAug. 12, 194'! FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 2,236 Great BritainSept. 13, 1884

